1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a report creating system, a report creating apparatus, and a report creating method for creating a report.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a recent demand for solving problems such as an increase in document-related cost or assets and an increase in environmental loads by optimizing apparatus environment and reviewing managerial and operational work. For example, by using a system for remotely managing apparatuses connected to a network, it is possible to determine the conditions of the apparatuses in real time in a management center.
Various services are provided in this remote management system. For example, Japanese Patent No. 4163550 describes a remote management system where a management apparatus manages apparatuses through an intermediary apparatus.
Further, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-269293 describes obtaining necessary information from the database of a management apparatus in accordance with the contents of a user's request and creating a report as a service provided by a remote management system.
Here, one of the services provided based on the information collected by the management apparatus of the remote management system is a service called a “usage report service.” This service provides a report on the usage of managed apparatuses on an apparatus basis when the managed apparatuses are apparatuses having a printing function, such as image forming apparatuses. The details of the usage to be reported are, for example, as follows:
the rates of usage of a duplex (printing or copying) function and a combining function and the number of outputs by paper size on for each apparatus;
a paper reduction effect due to the use of a duplex function and a combining function (an estimated value);
power consumption and the CO2 emissions (output) of an apparatus at the time of its use on an apparatus basis (estimated values); and
the total paper reduction of an apparatus expressed with the transition of the total number of outputs over the last twelve months on an apparatus basis.
Meanwhile, according to conventional techniques, image forming apparatuses are considered as managed apparatuses in the case of providing reports, so that other apparatuses are not under remote management. Therefore, in the case of managing other apparatuses such as a projector, the remote management system is desired to create a report that covers usage of the other apparatuses.